The referendum device is one of the institutions of direct democracy that claim to measure and express the will of the people better than the institutions of representative democracy. Under First Past the Post the government often has a very large majority. What are the different types of referendums? With more than 1,000 academic staff researchers and around 80 million new research funding per year, we are dedicated to performing world-leading research with the ultimate goal of improving human health. One argument for independent schools is that they are like Beacon schools, showcasing the very best of education. Those votes cast in marginal seats have much weight than those in safe seats where a vote is very unlikely to make a difference. Lesson Objectives To understand what a referendum is To examine case studies of referendums To analyse the advantages and disadvantages of referendums 3. Because referendums are often held on complex issues, it is easy for populism to take hold. The word "constitution" is also used to refer to a document that contains, sets out the framework and the principal functions of the organs of government within the state, and declares the principles by which those organs must operate. Following the results of the Brexit referendum, the pound dropped 16.5% against the US dollar until the end of 2016, the lowest level of the pound in 31 years, due to high uncertainty in the world economy caused by Britain's decision to leave the EU. Across the breadth of life and environmental sciences, we discover, apply and translate science to forge major advances in human and environmental health. Referendums in the United Kingdom. (30 marks), Unit 3C: Representative processes in the USA, Media, opinion polls and election case studies, See all Government & Politics resources , Why are people against an EU referendum? This really is another downside associated with having referendums in the UK as arrters may lose interest in politics. (28 Dec 2006), EISA - Promoting Credible Elections & Democratic Governance in Africa, United Nations. In 2014, the wantaway region of Spain, Catalonia, held an unofficial referendum after being refused formal permission by the Spanish Government for a binding referendum. However, referendums counteract this problem. Reserved Power Powers that are kept by the Westminster Government and not devolved, for example Defence. Brexit is the abbreviation of "Britain Exit," which refers to the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. A really good example of this is the Alternative Vote Referendum in 2011. (15 Dec 2016), Examples of 'vote per household' and multi-stage elections at the municipal level A good example of this may be the EU Referendum in 2016. (20 Sep 2011), Manually counting ballots in Block Vote systems Interestingly, the SNP have threatened themselves to hold an unofficial referendum over Scottish Independence. The first UK-wide referendum was held in __1975 __on the United Kingdoms continued membership of the European Community (European Union). Subsequent events showed that there was a wide dispersity of views on how Britain should leave the EU and what leaving even meant. Referendums are a direct vote by citizens on a political issue. . Get your custom essay on, Describe the Advantages and Disadvantages of Referendums , Get to Know The Price Estimate For Your Paper, "You must agree to out terms of services and privacy policy". Advantages. A core purpose of referendums is to engage those with relatively low information about the issues, which is to say the general population, in the choice. Good examples of this are the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 and the EU Referendum in 2016. (16 Aug 2012), Replacement of polling committee chairpersons? It provides a level of political support for difficult decisions. Weakens parliament - referendums undermine parliamentary sovereignty, and are decisions that are not made on the basis of deliberation and debate. Devolved Power A matter devolved for decision-making by a regional assembly. They are an example of direct democracy and contrast with the representative democracy that usually dominates politics in liberal democracies. Disadvantages of referendums in regards to constitutional changes. Focus. They are used to decide on a particular policy proposal, often of constitutional significance. In fact, the Government had already tried to use a Referendum in 1973 to settle the Irish issue but it was boycotted by Republicans as they did not feel the settlement it addressed their issues. . Referendums do a good job of raising public awareness of key issues. (28 Jun 2012), Bonus seats to largest party in Greek election 2. What are the Mechanisms for Reform and Amendment? Seats where one party regularly scores more than 50 per cent of the vote (210 seats . . They have to weigh up a number of competing issues, all of which will be of differing levels of importance to different to voters. , How would you react if Brexit was CANCELLED! On one hand, you have SEO's more organic approach, where you gradually cultivate an audience, strengthen trust, and build your brand awareness. 5. The parties stances on Brexit have also had electoral consequences, not least the weakening of Labours traditional working class support in some areas. What significant national and regional referendums have taken place in the UK? Referendums allow for an individual issue to be addressed not as a broader part of party policies, but on the merits and drawbacks of it. (19 Mar 2014), Formula for the number of Members of Parliament? Type your requirements and Ill connect you to For more information on this licence see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 . This can be seen in how Boris Johnson tried to approach Brexit upon becoming PM in July 2019 when he was willing (or at least appeared to be willing) to risk a No-Deal Brexit in the name of representing the 52% of the UK who voted to leave. Referendums spread power. The European Union has spent much of their time bringing the country along, often reluctantly . It creates considerable constitutional uncertainty, but also an opportunity. The Australian government is presently considering a plebiscite on the issue of marriage equality even though a clear majority in favour exists in parliament; many are strongly opposed on the grounds that such a campaign would be socially divisive, and might even provide a platform that legitimises hate speech. Under what process are referendums carried out? One advantage of using referendums in the UK is that they enable the public that are over 18 to approve or disprove important . . Advantages of referendums. On the other hand, there are two very stark downsides to choosing a referendum as the way to resolve an issue. Scotland's economy will be worse off. These are referendums without a clear legal mandate and are often therefore very controversial. Furthering this point, the public may be easily influenced by campaigns of newspapers, notable tabloids, or by wealthy vested interests who can afford to spend large amounts of money on a campaign. Elective Dictatorship A term coined by Lord Hailsham to describe the situation in Britain in which when a government is elected, they can normally govern without much effective scrutiny. A good example of this is the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles on Northern Ireland and set up the power-sharing agreement between nationalist and republican communities. This means that the public vote for a party and are unable to change anything once they are in power. This could be seen as undemocratic as only just over half of the voting populations decision was accounted for. The increasing use of referendums in the UK has created a convention that they should be used for major constitutional change or a change to the way in which the UK is governed. 2) What are the main a) advantages and b) disadvantages for the UK of an uncodified constitution? Electoral Assistance Division (EAD). Referendums are held only at the discretion of the Government. However, there was little discussion on what leaving would mean and how Britain might leave the EU. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (political parties) among voters.The essence of such systems is that all votes cast - or almost all votes cast - contribute to the result and are effectively used to help elect someone . Referendums give an equal say to every voter. In a referendum the voice of every voter counts equally. Therefore, it is not really the exercise in direct democracy. Here are the sticking points that were most important to the remain and leave camps during the Brexit process. 806 8067 22 Not every member of the public will be interested in politics or in fact have a clear understanding of the political system in Britain and this could affect the voters outcome. This gives the final verdict a greater mandate than that received as the result of a General Election. Referendums can be a check on "elective dictatorships" during a government's 5 years span. Advantages and disadvantages of referendums ----- One of the arguments put forward against referendums is that they tend to simplify complicated problems and reduce them to yes or no answers. The Scottish referendum can be seen to have benefited David Cameron as Gordon Brown promised to give Scotland and its own parliament and powers if they voted no, increasing the pressure on Ed Miliband to come through with those promises. Referendums and consultations are a form of political education for the general population. You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the publication, and to remix and adapt it, provided it is only for non-commercial purposes, that you appropriately attribute the publication and that you distribute it under an identical license. Political education - by widening debate on an issue, referendums create a better educated electorate, who have a stronger incentive to think and act politically. Is a vote in which the electorate can express a view on a particular issue of public policy. They would point to factors such as: It settled an issue that had been contentious for a generation. Do the advantages of referendums outweigh the disadvantages? The advantages of fibre optic certainly outweigh any disadvantages but it would be disingenuous not to mention the potential issues. , Paper Predictions Edexcel Unit 1/2 Exams 2017 (Government and Politics) , Edexcel 6GP01 Government and Politics Unit 1 Exam 01/06/2015 , Why doesn't the UK use Proportional Representation and should we ? Disadvantages of Fibre Optic Cabling. PolitiFact | Whats missing from media claims linking Google Trends to Brexit vote, Prime Ministers Questions Highlights 12.10.2022, Whether Britain should remain or leave the EU, 55.3% of voters chose to remain in the UK, Whether the Alternative Vote should replace First Past the Post for UK General Elections, 67.9% of voters chose to retain First Past the Post, Welsh Assembly Legislative Powers Referendum, Whether the Welsh Assembly should be given more legislative powers, 63.5% of voters chose to increase the legislative powers of the Welsh Assembly, Whether the North-East of England should have its own devolved assembly, 77.9% of voters chose to reject the establishment of a North-East Assembly, Whether the Good Friday agreement should be ratified, 71.1% of voters chose to ratify the Good Friday Agreement, Whether devolution should be granted to Greater London, 72% of of voters chose to establish a devolved system for London, Whether devolution should be introduced to Wales, 50.3% of voters chose to devolve powers to Wales, Whether devolution should be introduced to Scotland, 74.3% of voters chose to devolve players to Scotland, 79.7% of voters chose to reject devolution to Wales, 51.6% of voters chose to devolve powers to Scotland. Constitutional changes - it is appropriate that constitutional changes be approved by public referendum, as they affect the way the country is governed, so are more important than ordinary laws. Arguments for private schools. Representative Democracy (also called indirect democracy) - is where citizens choose others to represent them, making important decisions on their behalf. There are three primary reasons why one might consider referendums a good idea. There are three primary reasons why one might consider referendums a good idea. It was right, if we got a better deal to remain in the EU. Society is more likely to accept the decision - if the people have demonstrated their expressed consent they are more likely to agree with the resulting policies and allowing stable government of the people. Unlike General Elections, referendums allow political parties and voters to focus entirely on a single issue. Explain the Benefits and Downsides of using Referendums in the UK? Indeed, thats how I put it to my fellow European leaders: this is my strategy for keeping Britain in Europe. In the 2015 General Election UKIP had won 3.8 million votes (12.6%) but had only secured one seat in Parliament. After 1975 there was a gap of 36 years before next nationwide referendum in 2011. Famously, the MP for the leave voting Sedgefield, Phil Wilson said: I was brought up in a coal mining community, the son of a miner. This is unlike an unwritten constitution because a written constitution is contained in one single document. North-East Assembly 2004 rejected the idea of regional assemblies in the UK, with the North-East as the trial assembly. For many people Brexit was a magnificent exercise in democracy in Britain. There are a number of potential strengths of holding referendums within the UK political system: It can be argued that referendums provide a check on the power of the government in the UK, something that is often referred to as the elective dictatorship. 5. Supporters of the use of referendums argue that, in the context of increasing voter apathy and disenchantment with traditional forms of democracy, direct democracy can help to re-engage voters with politics and democracy. For example, the Scottish Independent Referendum in 2014 allowed for a robust debate about that issue and was, in the words of then SNP Leader Alex Salmond a once in a generation vote. Today's most discussed topic all over the world is the fact that UK will possibly leave the EU. This is particularly the case when an amendment to a constitution which itself was approved by referendum is under consideration. The Scottish Independence Referendum of 2014 and the Brexit Referendum of 2016 are examples of this. An example of this the Scottish referendum 2014, which saw 55% of the Scottish people vote no to independence. (15 Jun 2015), Direct Democratic Elections in Lebanon - How to Get There Also, the government determine when to hold a referendum and could be done to suit their own needs. On 23 June 2016, the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union. Direct democracy - referendums give the public unmediated and direct control over a policy, making sure that the public's view is clearly articulated, not distorted by those who 'represent' them. It highlighted some advantages and disadvantages of putting decisions directly in the hands of citizens. To confirm a decision taken by a previous Government Sometimes a party will promise a referendum as a position of opposition to the current government. A good example of this is the Good Friday Referendum in 1998 which confirmed the history agreement made in Belfast and set out how devolution would work in Northern Ireland. This, therefore, gives the decision taken more legitimacy. A referendum is a vote given to the public which is determined by the government, and is used to help answer an important political or constitutional question to which the public must vote a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Then, in October, Colombians shocked the world as the narrowest of majorities, 50.2% on a 38% turnout, voted to reject a peace deal negotiated between the government and the leftist guerrillas of the FARC to end its 52-year civil conflict. Plebiscite A plebiscite is an advisory referendum. There is also an argument that governments . They differ from elections- an election fills an office (so does not directly affect policy), whereas referendums do directly affect policy. Disadvantages of FPTP Minority of the vote : In most constituencies more people (in total) vote against the winning candidate than for them. A referendum is a popular vote on a single issue. 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